Columbus Takes on The Mob!

By Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa


This October, as we celebrate Italian American Heritage and Culture Month,
we are presented with conflicting views of who Italian Americans are: the
children of Columbus or Don Lino (Shark Tale). Each year for the past 60
years the Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF) has organized and presented the
largest expression of Italian Americans’ and Italian Pride in the United
States with their annual Columbus Day parade up Fifth Avenue in New York
City. The weekend is full of activities to extol the contributions made by
Italians and Italian Americans in the United State and the World. The
proceeds of the weekend activities go to fund the CCF’s scholarships and
grants-over two million dollars a year in philanthropic activities. In this way, the
Foundation is dedicated to trying to make a difference by providing needed
aid especially to Italian American students from kindergarten, high school,
and college.
Unfortunately, even with all their good efforts, there are those who would
rather profit from perpetuating an anti-intellectual mob image, which we have
become all too familiar with in popular media like “The Sopranos”, “Growing Up
Gotti” and “Joey” (on television). These shows with their negative stereotypes
of Italian Americans are intended for adult audiences, however; the latest
and most incredulous is Shark Tale, which is intended for children. In the
words of Lawrence Auriana, President of CCF, “The movie introduces young
minds to the idea that people with Italian names – like millions of
Americans across the country are gagsters.” (New York Times, September 13,
2004). The Mob Sharks have Italian names, such as, Don Lino, Luca, Giuseppe and Gino: and use Italian slang expressions, such as, “capeesh,” “consigliere,” “maronne” “agita.”
Our ancestors came to America, named after the Italian explorer, Amerigo
Vespucci, who was the first to realize that he had arrived at a “new world.”
They came to make a better life for their families; they believed in the
American Dream-hard work equals success. But will the American Dream
prove to be illusive to Italian Americans even though their children are
going to college in record numbers and their income levels are above the
national average? Will the negative stereotypes in the media of Italian
Americans hold them down? Will they continue to not be found in positions
of influence such as the Federal Judiciary? Make no mistake: these negative
stereotypes have an effect on who get these positions.
Fortunately, the Columbus Citizens Foundation has stayed the course and hats
off to their president, Lawrence Auriana, who has publicly spoken out
against Steven Spielberg and his production company, DreamWorks, for
perpetuating this negative image of Italian Americans on the youth of the
world.
If you think negative media images don’t matter, take a look at how many
Italian Americans are the head of cultural institutions like colleges,
universities and museums. Not many!
The days of doing it on your own are over. To truly achieve the American
dream, we must all stand together on these and other issues of importance to
us all. Please support the National boycott of Shark Tale and its sponsors (See Michelle DeMarco’s article on page 8), and let our voice be heard. Basta!